McCaffery: Johnson fits in, but Eagles still rebuilding

PHILADELPHIA --- The Eagles drafted an offensive tackle, one who was a quarterback in junior college, one who was a defensive end as recently as 2010, one who was a tight end the year before that.

For that, they had to finish 4-12 and be fitted with a position in the NFL draft typically reserved for the desperate? What? Were there no firemen available this time?

“He’s got some technical things to work on,” Chip Kelly said. “He’s only played the position for two years.”

The Eagles are rebuilding, whether they say so or not. They are breaking everything down, starting over, willing to wait. That’s why they were confident in selecting a pass-blocker they acknowledged is “raw” with the No. 4 overall pick. That would be Lane Johnson, who is 6-6, 303, with his 40 time, 20 time, vertical leap, wingspan and bench-pressing ability all having been draftnik-approved. He was even Academic All-Big 12, so he will be able to digest the complicated offensive syllabus Kelly is about to plop into his hands. And those hands are more than 10 inches apiece.

So why didn’t he go No. 1, No. 2, No. 3? Does he still need to work on something?

Kelly is under contract through 2017, and he is into Jeff Lurie’s pocket for $32 million. He has a team that has lost 11 of its last 12. And he is being entrusted not just to coach the Eagles, but to re-invent the way offenses fizz in the NFL.

So clearly the Eagles are OK with a five-year plan, nuances and all. Of course, four would be OK. Three, maybe. Two would work. But with their highest draft choice since Donovan McNabb heckled on his way to the try-on-the-new-hat photo op, they took the third-highest player drafted at a position. And then, after throwing around the U-word --- “upside” --- Kelly refused to bump Johnson to first class.

“Depth charts and all those other things,” Kelly said, “... let’s get Lane in here and take a few reps.”

Despite Johnson’s minimum of tackle experience, it wasn’t as if the Eagles were gambling. Every responsible mock draft --- oxymoron acknowledged --- had him rated highly. At one point Thursday night, Johnson even thought he might go as high as No. 3.

“I believe he is raw,” said Bob Stoops, the Oklahoma coach. “But he is incredibly talented and smart, and he was taught well by his assistant coaches. I feel he will be ready to take it on immediately. And then he will get better, naturally. He is not close to where he can be --- and he is really close to it right now.”

The Eagles made the right move, drafting the player they believed most qualified, not trading down for two lesser models just to show they were smart. Kelly made the choice with confidence, insisting that nothing he is going to achieve with the Eagles will come without versatility on the offensive line. And Johnson played right tackle as an Oklahoma junior, left tackle as a senior. So he couldn’t have been more versatile had he whipped that miniature Sooners’ wagon train around the field at halftime.

“Going to tackle my junior, it was a learning experience,” Johnson said. “It felt very weird. But I knew I had the talent, and with work and development, things went well for me.”

They did. They should go well for the Eagles, too. Kelly said he needs mobile linemen to make his offense work, and Johnson is such an athlete that, in high school, he was award-winning shot-putter.

“I think I fit in,” Johnson said, “with what they need.”

The Eagles need everything. That’s what 4-12 means. But 4-12 also means that they must give their project some time.

“He’s raw,” Kelly said. “But we look at raw as a positive, not a negative. We felt that his ceiling is probably the highest.”

Their franchise mission-statement aside --- the one that says they are single-minded in winning Super Bowls --- the Eagles are rebuilding. Pardon their Draft Night dust.